Lawsuit: New Jersey Adoptive Parent Sues DYFS for Series of Heinous Failures UPDATED

“While under the care of the state’s child protection agency, a Monmouth county baby was burned, beaten, and sexually abused, then ignored as doctor after doctor recommended therapy for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, a lawyer for her adopted mother says.

Three different caseworkers at the state’s Division of Youth and Family Services could have stopped the abuse several times, attorney David Mazie contends, but none did.

Now the girl is 13, and her adopted mother is suing the state Division of Youth and Family Services and three caseworkers for damages in a trial that kicked off Monday with impassioned opening arguments in Trenton. ”

“The adopted mother, identified only as L.A., is seeking monetary damages to assist in the care of her daughter. The case is expected to last two to three weeks.”

“Child advocates say it is rare for civil cases against DYFS to reach a full trial, where the actions of caseworkers in charge of protecting children can be put on full display. ”

“During opening arguments, Mazie outlined alleged negligence by DYFS from 2000 to 2005, when the girl, identified as S.A., was placed with the woman who would adopt her.

“They failed in this case, they failed miserably. They turned a blind eye on this child,” Mazie said. “This is going to be with her for the rest of her life.”

History

“As a 2-year-old, she was given to her biological father in 2000, without proper vetting, Mazie said. While in his care and under DYFS supervision, the toddler suffered sexual and physical abuse.

She was brought to the emergency room twice, and a neighbor reported she had burns on her body and a belt mark on her chest, the attorney said. She was removed when the father’s girlfriend reported she was bound, beaten and hanging from a hook in the wall, he added.

Mazie said after she was removed from the home, doctors recommended therapy for post traumatic stress disorder. It took DYFS two years to provide it, and escalated the girl’s anxiety by allowing visits with her father, he said.

He added that a caseworker was supposed to visit with the girl once a month, but there were several months when no one appeared at the home, or checked on her in foster care.

Elliott Abrutyn, a lawyer hired by the state to represent DYFS, said children under the state’s care also have a legal guardian independent of DYFS, and often the caseworkers were following court orders.

“What happened to (her) of course is tragic,” he said, telling the jury that it was “paramount” to understand DYFS caseworkers “were always absolutely looking out for the best interest of the child.”

Abrutyn said doctors who treated the baby when she was brought into the emergency room could have reported suspected abuse to DYFS, and did not.

“Whatever our clients did, they did in good faith,” he said.

Lauren Kidd, a spokeswoman for DYFS, said the division does not comment on pending litigation.”

Woman sues DYFS after her adopted child was allegedly sexually, physically abused under institution’s watch
[The Star-Ledger 12/7/11 by Megan DeMarco]

Update: “The state will pay a Pennsylvania family $5 million in damages for the physical and sexual abuse their adopted daughter suffered as a baby while under the care of New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services.

The state settled with the family today after a jury awarded damages, plus attorney’s fees. Because the state chose to settle, the jury’s verdict is vacated.

The settlement is one of the largest DYFS has ever paid for a single child. The largest settlement was $12.5 million paid in 2005 to four brothers who nearly starved in a Collingswood foster home.

“The family’s lawyer, David Mazie, said the baby should have never been placed with her biological father. He argued in a trial that began Dec. 5 in Trenton that three DYFS caseworkers who handled S.A.’s case could have stopped the abuse by checking on her once a month, as they were supposed to, or removing her when a neighbor reported the baby was being abused to DYFS. There were also court-ordered requirements, like daycare, that DYFS didn’t follow through with, he said.

They finally removed her from the home, Mazie said, when she was found beaten, with her hands tied, hanging from a hook.

“The liability here is overwhelming,” Mazie told the jury on Wednesday during closing arguments. “Consider how this is going to affect her her whole life. It just broke her.”

After she was removed, doctors recommended therapy that took DYFS several years to provide, Mazie said.

The lawyer hired by the state, Elliot Abrutyn, said the caseworkers were following protocol and were not responsible. They had no reason to believe the girl’s father would harm her, he said. “At the time of placement it wasn’t foreseeable what this man would do to his child,” he told the jury. “There is the right of a parent to parent their child, that is a constitutional right.”

A spokeswoman for DYFS referred questions to the Attorney General’s office, which declined to comment.

The girl, now 13, was in DYFS’ care from 1999 to 2006, when she was adopted. During this period, DYFS began a massive overhaul that has cost the state more than $1 billion in reforms.

On Tuesday, a federally-appointed monitor issued her tenth report on DYFS’ reforms that said it has improved, but that caseloads are rising again and workers still need to do a better job helping troubled families under their supervision.

Mazie said the case indicates DYFS is still damaged “from top to bottom.”

Pa. family receives $5M in damages for abuse adopted daughter suffered under N.J. DYFS’s care
[NJ.com 12/16/11 by Megan DeMarco]

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